Selected texts: "This law which is ours" and Other essays , by Muhammad Asad, Héritage Éditions

Do we still need to introduce Muhammad Asad ? One of the most famous Muslim thinkers of the 20th century, and arguably the most influential European Muslim of that era, by turns journalist, world traveler, author, political theorist or diplomat, this Austrian Jew born as Leopold Weiss , fell in love with the culture, worldview and way of life of the Arabs, and finally converted to Islam, marked his time.

If the first part of his life, particularly in Arabia, is well known thanks to his famous autobiography, the sequel is less so: his commitment to the Pakistan Movement, his ideological struggle within the framework of this new State, then his withdrawal from the political scene and his scholarly work aimed, in particular, at making Islam better understood by Europeans. It is to this period of nearly half a century that this selection of articles, lectures, speeches and unpublished historical documents belongs: his plea for an innovative approach to Islamic Law, his vision of Islamic State and its society, its appeal to Muslims at a fateful moment in history, its presentation of Islam and its answers to the great existential questions, or even its thoughts on the message of the Qur'ân or the question of Jerusalem.

In the image of the turbulent career of its author, this collection of texts chosen by his wife will in any case leave no one indifferent : some are the most controversial, all will certainly not be unanimous; but it is undeniable that they offer us the opportunity to think, which was precisely, and above all else, the intention of their author - whether or not we agree with his conclusions.